May 4, 2012
Written by Peter Cohen
Rolling Stone:
Adam Yauch, one-third of the pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, has died at the age of 48, Rolling Stone has learned. Yauch, also known as MCA, had been in treatment for cancer since 2009. The rapper was diagnosed in 2009 after discovering a tumor in his salivary gland.
It’s a huge loss to the music world. The Beastie Boys – just inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – had an enormous impact on a generation of musicians and music fans. Yauch will be missed.
UPDATE: The Beastie Boys’ official Web site confirms that Yauch passed away as a result of cancer.
Written by Peter Cohen
Jacqui Cheng for Ars Technica:
As it turns out, Dropbox inadvertently put other developers using its SDK in violation of one of Apple’s app guidelines, resulting in a string of rejections that looked as if apps using Dropbox were being banned. The Web flew into a fury over what is essentially an annoying but long-standing clause in Apple’s guidelines. The problem has now been remedied and the fury has died down, but what, exactly, happened during this sordid drama and how did it end up being fixed?
An interesting look at a little tempest in a teapot that erupted recently in the Apple world.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
A photo blog collection of all the best bookshelf photos from around the world for people who *heart* bookshelves.
Some amazing pics in here.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you’re probably aware of Darth on Twitter. He takes photos of me and Photoshops them in funny and weird scenarios. Here is a page of some of the most recent ones.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants told investors that Nokia’s conversion to a Windows platform would halt its deteriorating position in the smartphone market. It did not,” the lawsuit states. “This became apparent on April 11, 2012, when Nokia disclosed that its first quarter performance would be worse than expected. Nokia expected its first quarter 2012 non-IFRS Devices & Services operating margin to fall by 3%, and projected first quarter 2012 Devices & Services net sales of €4.2 billion.
It’s a good thing RIM owners never thought of this.
Written by Peter Cohen
Philip Elmer-DeWitt for CNN Money:
“We do not expect Apple TV this year,” wrote [Mike Moskowitz,] J.P. Morgan’s chief Apple (AAPL) watcher. “Our research does not indicate any looming TV-related product launch, and our model does not incorporate any potential impact from a TV device at this time. Despite the constant hum of media and investor speculation, we think any product entry will be measured in years, not quarters.”
Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster has been trumpeting Apple’s next big thing as an Apple-branded TV set for so long now, I think some people just assume it’s fact, and that it’s a question of when, not if. I still hold that it makes absolutely no sense for Apple to get involved in such a saturated market. Apparently Moskowitz agrees with me.
Written by Peter Cohen
John Paczkowski for AllThingsD:
According to IDC’s review of worldwide tablet shipments for the first quarter of 2012, Kindle Fire shipments dropped from 4.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 to less than 750,000 units last quarter. From 16.8 percent to “just over 4 percent” global market share is a swift decline indeed, and enough to cost Amazon its second-place spot in IDC’s ranking of tablet vendors. Amazon is now in third place, behind Samsung.
I expect this will help to quell rumors that Apple is putting out a smaller version of the iPad to compete with the Kindle and Nook. It doesn’t seem like consumers have any sustained interest in the Fire.
Written by Peter Cohen
Alexander Sliwinski for Joystiq:
Electronic Arts has informed Joystiq that Rock Band for iOS will remain active for mobile rock stars. There was a panic at the disco yesterday after users of the app received a prompt telling them it would “no longer be playable” after May 31.
EA raised the ire of iOS gamers yesterday when it sent a message out to players of Rock Band for iOS that read “On May 31, ROCK BAND will no longer be playable on your device. Thanks for rocking out with us!”
It’s not exactly unprecedented – EA has stopped circulating iOS games before that either haven’t worked well or haven’t sold well.
Written by Peter Cohen
Stephanie Clifford and Julie Bosman:
Target, signaling its growing irritation with its rival Amazon, announced on Wednesday that it would stop selling the online retailer’s Kindle e-readers.
Target’s upset with Amazon for its “Price Check” app, which lets customers check prices of products on retailer store shelves. Target has accused Amazon of using “our brick-and-mortar stores as a showroom.”
Written by Peter Cohen
Stephen Lawson for Computerworld:
Apple and Samsung Electronics have until Monday to further boil down the number of claims to be considered in the sweeping intellectual-property lawsuit concerning their smartphone and tablet products, which is now scheduled to go to trial July 30.Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the companies to pare down the case, in which Apple and Samsung are suing each other over patent infringement and other claims, so a jury can understand and fairly judge the issues in one trial. It was the second time the judge had asked them to downsize their claims. The order came at a case management conference at the court on Wednesday afternoon.
Koh called the breadth and depth of patent infringement claims “cruel and unusual” to inflict to a jury in its present state, and ordered the companies to simplify their suits before the case goes to trial in July.
May 2, 2012
Written by Shawn King
Cool Material:
The Pocket Artillery Mini Cannon looks like a harmless desktop accessory, it’s nicely polished, available in some eye-catching colors and it seems like an ideal way to show off your eye for design and love of little trinkets. Then you light the fuse. All of a sudden that fun office party turns into a hospital run cause Dottie took a BB in the hand.
Don’t lie – you know you want one.
Written by Shawn King
Mental Floss:
Here are fifteen of the most beautiful libraries throughout Europe.
I’ve posted in the past about beautiful libraries in personal homes. These are ones the public has access to.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Alex Brooks:
There are a number of baffling points here though, why would Apple only release an iPad with LTE capable of working on the 700Mhz band which is only used in North America? And then why on the full knowledge that the new iPad has 4G that doesn’t work in the likes of Australia and Europe did it insist on advertising so?
I admit to finding this confusing as well. Why go through the mess of being investigated in a number of countries when you could avoid it?
Apple could argue that the iPad is 4G compatible around the world, but the carriers just don’t support it yet, I suppose. That argument is flimsy at best.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, has won the “British Visionary Innovator” award given out by the UK’s Intellectual Property Office in honor of World IP Day. The designer topped a list of ten notable designers, inventors, and other creative people, including Tim Berners Lee, J.K. Rowling, and Simon Cowell.
Jony deserves all of the awards and accolades he gets.
May 1, 2012
Written by Peter Cohen
Jessica Conditt for Joystiq:
Westfall (or so he calls himself) began a Kickstarter for Mythic: The Story of Gods and Men, an RPG from Little Monster Productions to rival World of Warcraft and Skyrim, built by a team of former Activision Blizzard developers. The project asked for $80,000 and it had raised $5,000 until, three days ago, it was canceled. Little Monster didn’t say why it was canned, but backers accused the whole thing of being fake.
Street justice!
Written by Jim Dalrymple
And 58% of Moms want an iPad vs 18% who want a Kindle Fire.
Clearly Moms are very smart.
Written by Peter Cohen
Erik Slivka for MacRumors:
The Travis County Commissioners Court has just given official approval for a package of tax incentives designed to secure Apple’s commitment to expand its Austin, Texas campus and add over 3,600 new jobs at the site.
So much for the plan being “in peril,” as an official at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce claimed last week.
Jawbone the company behind uniquely-designed eponymous Bluetooth earpieces, is introducing a scaled up version of its tiny Jambox speaker system – the Big Jambox. It’s available for pre-order today and costs $299.99. The company plans to begin shipping The Big Jambox by mid-May.
Like its little cousin, the Big Jambox connects to an audio source via Bluetooth. It works with iOS devices and Macs – anything equipped with Bluetooth audio connectivity – and incorporates a battery that Jawbone says is good for 15 hours of use between charges. What’s more, it operates as a speakerphone so you can use it to talk on your iPhone or other devices running VoIP software or FaceTime.
It’s made out of stainless steel and weighs 2.7 pounds, and will come in colors and finishes: Graphite Hex, White Wave and Red Dot. Buttons at the top let you adjust volume, skip tracks and stop or pause playback; a 3.5mm audio input on the side lets you connect non-Bluetooth devices. There’s also a micro USB port for connecting to a Mac or PC; an accompanying “MyTALK” Web site gives Jambox users access to exclusive apps and downloadable content.
Written by Peter Cohen
James Brightman for GamesIndustry International:
Mobile developers looking to get some financial assistance with their projects for iOS or Android may have a new ally in AppStori, a Kickstarter-like funding platform specifically for mobile apps and technologies.One of the differences for AppStori, however, is its community focus; it’s not just about donations but support, feedback, collaboration, and the ability to find talent.
That’s what makes this different: You don’t just have to contribute money. You can support a project you really like, and if you’ve got skills the developers need, you can even be part of the project. Given the creative talent in the game business, this could make a real difference in how games are made.
(Edited 1:01 PM – information about funding goals removed.)
Written by Peter Cohen
Rory Cellan-Jones for BBC News:
The Advertising Standards Authority has widened its inquiry into the advertising of the Apple iPad.The BBC understands the regulator is not satisfied that Apple has complied with an agreement to amend claims about the latest iPad’s 4G capabilities.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – the UK’s regulator of advertising – is examining claims that Apple has incorrectly advertised the iPad as 4G compatible, when it is not, in fact, presently compatible with the 4G that is being rolled out in in the UK. Customers have complained, so the ASA is continuing to scrutinize how Apple is advertising the iPad’s capabilities.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Katie Fehrenbacher for GigaOM:
Apple is planning to build a massive 4.8 MW fuel cell farm for a data center that will consume 20 MW, according to Apple’s latest figures. Apple is also building an adjacent 20 MW solar panel farm at the data center. While Greenpeace has given Apple low marks for building its data center in North Carolina, where the grid has a lot of coal power, Apple actually seems to be going to significant lengths to build its own clean power sources at the site itself.
Written by Peter Cohen
Helen A.S. Popkin for MSNBC:
He had the means and the opportunity, but we may never know the motive of an 11-year-old student who urinated on a couple dozen laptops left unattended at Upper Allen Township Elementary in Pennsylvania.In a report now bemusing Mac fan forums across the Internet, the Upper Allen Township Police Department states that “the cart and computers were damaged beyond repair, resulting in the loss of over $36,000.”
Apparently such “accidents” are not covered under warranty by Apple, which won’t touch them because they’re now biohazards.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Erica Ho for Time:
At the heart of the matter, most of the controversy stems from the “gateway sexual activity” line, which remains vague and was not clearly defined before the bill went to vote. Some detractors argue that it could unreasonably punish teachers for allowing students to cuddle, hold hands or even hug, whether in the halls between classes or at a school dance.
Burying your head in the sand doesn’t make things go away.
