Federico Viticci, MacStories:

But until that day, the stopgap solution to manage and sync content locally needs to be better than iTunes. Maybe it’s about splitting iTunes into multiple apps that execute their functions clearly, naturally, and reliably. Maybe it’s about offering a dedicated App Store app outside of iTunes that lets you easily switch between iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps. iBooks for Mac might help in getting the books out of iTunes. Perhaps separating media playback from device management, while making everything easier to use would come in handy, too.

Viticci echoes the grievances that I mentioned in January:

As you can see, things on the Mac side include a bloated iTunes, no iBookstore, and multiple and inconsistent ways to manage and update desktop software. These problems go to the heart of Ross’s list. To match consistency with iOS, Apple should offer music, videos, podcasts, or other entertainment items in iTunes, electronic books in an iBookstore for Mac, and all apps in a unified Mac App Store with consistent update behavior.

iTunes is a bloated piece of antiquated software that I hate to use. It needs to be trimmed down, made simpler, and transition to the iCloud era. Until then, I will continue to avoid it like the plague.

Corky Siemaszko, NY Daily News:

Beer makes men smarter.

So say researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

They found that men with a couple beers under their belts were actually better at solving brain-teasers than their sober counterparts.

Seems legit. I’m basically unstoppable when I have a drink, or many.

Bob Van Voris, Bloomberg:

The U.S. filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple Corp., Hachette SA, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster in New York district court, claiming collusion over eBook pricing.

Apple and Macmillan, which have refused to engage in settlement talks with the Justice Department, deny they colluded to raise prices for digital books, according to people familiar with the matter. They will argue that pricing agreements between Apple and publishers enhanced competition in the e-book industry, which was dominated by Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)

Add this to the list of lawsuits involving Apple. I know who Amazon is rooting for.

Gawker announced today that it has hired a disenchanted Fox employee to provide inside information on the news organization. The first post is rather interesting.

The Mole:

I always intended to keep my mouth shut. The plan was simple: get hired, keep my head down and my views to myself, work for a few months, build my resume, then eventually hop to a new job that didn’t make me cringe every morning when I looked in the mirror.

That was years ago. My cringe muscles have turned into crow’s feet. The ten resumes a month I was sending out dwindled into five, then two, then one, then zero. No one wants me. I’m blacklisted.

I work at Fox News Channel.

Alexandra Chang, Wired.com:

The Purdue Society of Professional Engineers created a machine that blew up and popped a balloon in a winding 300 steps, breaking the team’s own Guinness world record for largest Rube Goldberg machine.

So what goes into making something like this? One graduate student, 13 undergraduate students, and 5,000 hours over six months. Very cool.

Om Malik on today’s announcement that Facebook acquired Instagram:

Facebook was scared shitless and knew that for first time in its life it arguably had a competitor that could not only eat its lunch, but also destroy its future prospects. Why? Because Facebook is essentially about photos, and Instagram had found and attacked Facebook’s achilles heel — mobile photo sharing.

I think Malik is right. Instagram provides a more elegant and pleasant mobile photo sharing experience - hands down. Facebook probably made a smart decision. I still come back to the $1 billion price tag, though. Anyone else think there is a rapidly expanding bubble that is about to burst?

Kevin Systrom, CEO of Instagram, announced that his company has been acquired by Facebook:

When Mike and I started Instagram nearly two years ago, we set out to change and improve the way the world communicates and shares. We’ve had an amazing time watching Instagram grow into a vibrant community of people from all around the globe. Today, we couldn’t be happier to announce that Instagram has agreed to be acquired by Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg confirmed the news on his Facebook timeline:

For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

So how much did Facebook pay for Instagram?

The social networking giant has reached an agreement to buy Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock.

$1 billion. BILLION. I guess that answers the question of how Instagram would earn money for their free service.

Zuckerberg notes that they will develop Instagram independently from the Facebook platform and plans to retain the core functionality. As an avid Instagram user, I am a little worried about this acquisition. Presumably, the core goal of Facebook is to add even more users and increase sharing on their platform. I have a feeling Instagram’s appeal will eventually get screwed up by an increased Facebook presence.

On a related note, you can go here to export your photos. If you then want to delete your Instagram account, go here.

Graham Roberts and Xaquin G.V., The New York Times:

Alan Gilbert, music director of the New York Philharmonic, demonstrates and discusses the role of a conductor.

There is no way to really put your finger on what makes conducting great, even what makes conducting work. Essentially what conducting is about is getting the players to play their best and to be able to use their energy and to access their point of view about the music. There is a connection between the gesture, the physical presence, the aura that a conductor can project, and what the musicians produce.

I don’t know anything about music, but this was pretty interesting. You should definitely check out the cool motion capture video.

The Economist on the initial results of Peru’s investment in One Laptop per Child:

Flush with mining revenues, the previous government embraced the laptop initiative. It spent $225m to supply and support 850,000 basic laptops to schools throughout the country. But Peruvians’ test scores remain dismal. Only 13% of seven-year-olds were at the required level in maths and only 30% in reading, the education ministry reported last month.

This is a good case study to illustrate that without good teachers and parents that give a shit, a laptop is just a tool without inspiration.

MacRumors:

AT&T has announced it will begin unlocking customers’ iPhones once their 2-year contracts have expired. The move will free up the currently-locked devices to use a micro-SIM from any carrier offering a network compatible with the device.

It’s about time these jokers offered this service.